Improvement in coffins



F.- TIGHE.

Coflns.

No, 143,204. PatentedSeptemberiZS,1873.`

WITNESSES. @Kfm @u 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEo FRANCIS TIGHE, OF ItOGKLAND, MAINE.`

IMPROVEMENT IN COFFINS.i

Specification forming part' of Letters Patent No. 143,204, dated September 23, 1873; application filed July e, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS TIGHE, of Rockland, in the county of Knox and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Cofns; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which- Fgure l is a perspective view of the con with the lid turned back. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, showin g the lid fastened down, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawings denote the same parts.

In the construction of cofns the general custom is to make the cover in two pieces, one of which, covering the head, shoulders, and breast ofthe corpse, is hin ged to the otherportion, so as to constitute a lid which can be raised to expose to view the features of the deceased. The practice heretofore has been to forni this lid by sawingv oft' the upper end ofthe cover, and then connecting the parts thus sawed asunder by means of butt hinges applied at the upper edge of the joint. This construction is defective, however, in this respect, that the lid and the cover are so weakened by the cut-off that, after burial, the superincumbent mass of earth is liable to burst therninward, and to settle and rest directly upon the body itself, thus disfiguring and injuring the remains, which a common instinct teaches us to guard from such accidents with religious care.

Retaining the general form of the cover, as heretofore, my object in this invention is to strengthen the joint so as to protect the cover and lid from being broken down by the weight of the earth resting upon them; and to this end the invention consists in the new method of constructing the joint, which I will now proceed to describe.

In the drawings, A represents the side walls,` B the end walls, and C C the cover, of a coffin, the part C', which forms the lid, being hinged to the part C by means of the hinges h h, as shown. Along the edge of the joint between the parts G C', I form a tapering tongue, m, upon one part, and a tapering groove, n, in the other, so that when the lid is down the tongue will fit into the groove and close the joint nearly or quite air-tight. The tongue extending along the entire edge locks the parts iirmly together, and adding its strength to that of the hinges, effectually prevents the lid or the cover from being depressed or broken down by the weight resting upon them. The same construction may be adapted where a small lid is fitted into the cover instead of being formed upon or by the end of it, as above set forth. The joint is packed in any suitable manner, and I make the tongue and groove tapering, in order that they may close more tightly together. I `also strengthen the vertical or inclined joints where the side pieces A are united to the end pieces B, by means of angle-irons or bent metal plates c, as represented. When the corners are rounded the side pieces are jointed to the end pieces by means of interposed wooden blocks b, and I construct the bent plate to cover the block and extend over the edges thereof to the parts Aand B. Having been riveted to the parts A B b, the metallic plate renders the whole fra-nie very strong and secure.

I claim as my invention- .I

The cover of a coflin, which is provided with a tapering tongue, m, which, when closed, enters a corresponding tapering groove, n, in the lid, the joint being also packed with a suitable material to render it air-tight, and the cover and lid being also united by hinges, as' and for the purposes set forth.

FRANCIS TIGHE.

I Witnesses:

J. I. GILLET, GHAs. A. DAvIs. 

